The old drugs work better

As many of you know, I am a type 2 diabetic, now nearly three years running. This news in the Chron today is good for me:

Older, cheaper diabetes drugs are as safe and effective as newer ones, concludes an analysis that is good news for diabetics and may further hurt sales of Avandia, a blockbuster pill recently tied to heart problems.

The clear winner: metformin, sold as Glucophage and generically for about $100 a year. It works as well as other diabetes pills but does not cause weight gain or too-low blood sugar, the analysis found. It also lowers LDL or bad cholesterol.

"It looks to be the safest," said Dr. Shari Bolen, a Johns Hopkins University researcher who led the review, which was published online Monday by the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Consumer Reports also published a consumer guide of the results. Besides metformin, it rates glipizide and glimepiride, sold as Amaryl and Glucotrol, as best bets.

Metformin and glipizide are the two I have been taking from the outset, and the only two I have ever used to control my blood sugar. (I also take Tricor for elevated triglycerides, Lipitor to elevate my good cholesterol -- I have never had an issue with high LDL -- as well as a mild diuretic called Triamterene to control symptoms of Meneire's, and Lyrica for diabetic neuropathy in my feet.) In addition to the prescriptions, I take some over-the-counter yet doctor-recommended remedies, including low-dose aspirin therapy and a fish oil capsule (omega 3's also help lift HDL) with each meal. I do not inject insulin; all of my meds are oral.

The good doctors of Baylor Family Medicine have helped me effectively manage my diabetes, particularly Dr. Grace Kuo. My A1C score, 12 at the time I was diagnosed, is now under 7, about as good as a person with a functioning pancreas can do.

And yes, I exercise regularly and watch what I eat, as every diabetic should.

I'm fortunate that my insurance plan is good. The co-pays on all these range from $10 to $20, which means I still spend nearly a hundred bucks a month for them. God forbid my insurance went away.

Have you seen SiCKO yet?

Don't piss on my shoes and tell me it's raining

Don't tell me you didn't get with no hoes in N'Awlins.

Don't tell me you're a Nigerian prince who's had an unfortunate accident and needs to deposit a large amount of money in my bank account.

Don't tell me I can make thousands of dollars working from home.

Don't tell me bah bah bah bah bah, you're lovin' it.

Don't tell me you've got a bridge for sale.

Don't tell me to apply it directly to my forehead.

Don't tell me to tell ten people to send me ten dollars, then tell them to tell that to ten other people.

Don't tell me it's time for a fourth meal.

Don't tell me James Garner wants me to take out a reverse mortgage.

Don't tell me one of my deceased relatives ordered a monogrammed Bible for me, COD.

Don't tell me I can publish my poems in your journal for a low introductory rate.

Don't tell me I need a pill to keep my restless legs from bothering me at night.

Don't tell me you're concerned about the great deal of time multiple impeachment trials would take away from Congress working on the problems of the country, the time it would take for the House to consider articles of impeachment, and for the Senate to conduct multiple trials, would make it very difficult, if not impossible, for Congress to do what it was elected to do -- end the war and address some of the other terrible mistakes this administration has made over the past six-and-one-half years.

Because I ain't buyin' it.